Fedor Emelianenko on the possibility of coming out of retirement to face Brock Lesnar: “Anything is possible”
Formerly ranked number one fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko has been giving his reasons for retiring from the sport of mixed martial arts following his first round TKO win over Pedro Rizzo last week in Russian, as well as stating that he could be tempted to pick up his gloves one more time for the right fight.
Speaking during an interview with Inside MMA, Fedor said:
“I’ve got daughters, and they’re growing up without me. This is very, very difficult for me. Family is always first place for me, so this is the time.”
Fedor was asked if the constant questions about his retirement had any bearing on his decision. Not according to ex-PRIDE champion. According to Fedor, it was just time.
No, I’m not tired of the questions. There are actually going to be more of the questions. People will accept my decision. They gotta understand that it’s my decision and I’ve got to go.You shouldn’t be disappointed that I’m leaving. Life is going on. I want to thank everyone who has supported me. Eventually the time to go was coming. My time has come. We’ll try to make some new MMA stars.
When asked whether he could be lured out of retirement for a fight with Brock Lesnar, Fedor added:
“I’m not promising, but anything is possible.”
I’m sure the biggest regret fans will have looking back on “The Last Emperor’s” career is that he never signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship while he had the chance. Despite that however he will no doubt go down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, heavyweight of his time… just unfortunately that time wasn’t the modern era. Stay tuned to MMABay for more news on this situation as we get it.
By Michael Pepper. (Follow me on Twitter)
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